Image: Jeffrey Stilwell
A pair of long-legged flies met a Romeo-and-Juliet ending some 90 million years ago, when a falling drop of tree resin ruined their tender moment. On the bright side, their disrupted act of fornication was preserved for all eternity in this pornographic piece of amber. Prehistoric spiders, ants, midges, and a pair of copulating flies are among a unique treasure trove of amber fossils described in a paper
published today in Scientific Reports. Amber fossils are typically associated with the northern hemisphere, particularly Myanmar, which has produced a bewildering assortment of fossils over the years. The new selection is unique in that these are among of the oldest amber fossils collected from the southern hemisphere, including sites in Australia and New Zealand. The new paper was headed by Jeffrey Stilwell from the Monash School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment.
Various critters found trapped in amber originating from the southern hemisphere.
Image: JD Stillwell et al., 2047 / Scientific Reports
“This may be the first example of ‘frozen behavior’ in the fossil record of Australia,” said Stilwell in a press release
But as paleontologist Victoria McCoy from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee told the New York Times, these flies might not actually b e in their final death positions. “It’s possible one fly was trapped in the amber and the other was a little excited and tried to mate,” said McCoy, who was not involved in the research.
Hmph. Okay, fair enough — but we so want these fornicating flies to have died happy. For these lusty long-legged flies, their final copulatory act has been preserved for all to see, But it could’ve been worse — as exemplified by a 175 – million-year-old piece of amber containing a daddy longlegs with his penis firmly erect. As I wrote in my of this discovery back in , “It’s possibly the oldest — and longest held — erection in the history of science. ” And in another awkward moment caught frozen in time, a 200 – million-year old chunk of Chinese amber shows a male damselfly trying to court a female. This poor guy has an eternal case of the blue balls. At least the long-legged flies actually got the chance to do the horizontal hokey-pokey. 
The amber fossils are providing an unprecedented glimpse into the ecosystems that existed long ago in southern Pangea, southern Gondwana, and Zealandia. Starting between (million and) million years ago, landmasses now recognized as South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Antarctica, and Australia began to break away from the Pangea supercontinent, forming the Gondwana minor supercontinent.
In addition to these flies, the paper describes a newfound species of fossil. ants called Monomorium and a small, wingless hexapod, both from southern Gondwana. A batch of baby spiders, biting midges, liverworts, and pieces of moss are among the other items found enveloped in the fossilized tree resin. The scientists also found a piece of amber that’s around million years old — the oldest ever from southern Pangea.
Looking ahead, the researchers will continue to catalog the various animals found in the amber, as many of them could represent new species and possibly even new groups of animals .
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